Bottle-stopper.



G. HOOKHAM.

BOTTLE STOPPEHl APPLIOATION FILED MAB.

4 PATBNTBD'OGT. 22, 1907.

have 71,2501 Geozlg'; e Hook/La. 7a,

UNITED STATES GEORGE HOOKHAM, OF BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

BOTTLE-STOPPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 22, 1907'.

Appncanfm sied March 7,1906. serai No. 304,756.

To all i/.rhom 'it nuo] roncarn:

De it known that l, Geenen HookHAM, a subject oi the .liing of lreatbritain and Ireland, residing at 7 and S N ew .lartholomew street,Birmingham, in the county oi llf'arwiek, England, manulacturer,4 haveinvented `new and useful improvements in Bottle-Stoppers, of

which the following is a specilication.

The invention rol-.ites to bottle stop pers an d has for its object to`el'tect improvements in that kind oi bottle stopper which is describedin my Patent No. 787669 patented April It, 1905, these improvementsbeing specially directed towards the attainment of greatcoinpressibility and choapness ol' construction ot the bottle stopper.

lhe invention consists in orining a bottle stopper with a body part otvwood which has been treated Inechanically so as lo break up the hardcellular' structure ol' the wood and thereby render it veryconiprcssible. This body part may be used by itselt' and treated withparatlin wax, pitch or the like, or in addition it may be provided witha contr-al hole, or grooves or with both and covered or partiallycovered with capsules or a capsule.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings which illustrate theapplication ol this invention in various ways, Figure l. shows theinvention in its simplest iorm. Fig. 2 shows a mod inc-ation having acentral hole. Fig. 3 shows an additional mmlitication in which a plughas been inserted in the central hole. Figs. 4 and 5 are end 4viewsshowing two arrangements oi groovcswhich may be employed lor the purposeot giving greater compressibilty. Fig. is an outside lview ol' a bottlestopper according to the present invention, completely covered by acapsule. Fig. 7 shows another `form oi grooving, and Fig. S shows astopper with a capsule and internal grooves.

ln carrying the invention into ellect according to one term, a solidwooden cylinder or prism is compressed in any suitable manner so as tobreak up the hard cellular structure which binds the bers oi the wood.This is prelerably eti'ectid by squeezing the wood through a suitabledie which in the case ol' American white wood has about one halt` thesectional area ol the uncompressed cylinder or prism. When this is donesuitable lengths may be cut from the wood so compressed so as to give aconvenient length ol stopper, u, as shown in Fig. l. When this cork issoaked in water it assumes its original sin-e and shape after which itis dried. By thisinie-.tns some woods, as for instance, American whitewood, are rendered so co1n} nessible that stoppers so treated may torsome purposes be used without further treatment exceptiinpregnating theupper portion with any suitable waterprooling material such as para! linwax or pitch. l

In order to give additional eonipressibility, however,

such as metal, Celluloid or vulcanite.

modification will be clearly seen iroin the sectional it is generallypreferred to drill a hole, b, (Fig. 2) up the center oi the body, a, forabout three ourths `of Vits length i'roni the inner end, that is, theend which comes in contact with the liquidin the bottle.

For still greater coinpressibility grooves, `c, may be formed by meansof a drift, these grooves extending from the inner surl'ace oi thecylinder tormed by the cork body, a, and thedrilled hole, b, as shown inFig. 4 or groov es,l c, may be arranged outside the cork body as sh ownin Fig. 5. ln other cases the exterior surfaces are groovedcircumterentially as shown in Fig. 7, the circumferential grooves, c,being preferably iine and closely set. The surface Vmay be provided withone continuous groove or with separate grooves arranged in rings.

In cases wherethe inclosed liuid is of an effervescent nature, a diskofwood or `thin metal, e, is employed which prevents the fluid escapinground the cork screw when such is inserted; it is also useful ior makingthe stopper more diHicult to eject. Further, when the plug, c, is madeot' `wood compressed or otherwise treated in accordance with thisinvention, on becoming soaked it exerts a radial pressure on the sidesoi the cork and this assists in making a fluid tight joint, and whenmade of metal it `preverus the hollow cylindrical .part

of the cork from boing squeezed too much radially inwards. `Externalgrooves may be used as shown in Fig. 5 either with or without the plug,e.

A capsule, d, may be inserted on the end oi the stopper in additiontothe pitch or other water-proofing inaterial or a covering oi paper orthe like may be provided to assist the water-proofing agent. Thecapsule, d, may be arranged on the inner end or the outer end or on bothand may be formed oi any suitable material The term oi this view, Fig.3, which represents a stopper provided with a closing plug, e. Theclosing plug, however, may be dispensed with when the liquid containedin the bottle is not oi an eitervescent nature. Further, the form shownin Fig. Bmay be inverted, in which case it is preferred to place acapsule over the end of the hole, and the plug, e, is then dispensedwith.

It will be understood that according to my invention in all cases thewood is treated with para Hin wax or the like 7c or provided with acapsule at least on its outer end. Capsules, when used, are made of amaterial which is not affected chemically by the inclosed iiuid.

In Fig. S there is shown a method oi preventing the end of the topcapsule when such is used from being burred when the cork is beinginserted. This consists in making an oblique incision, h, in the outersurface all round the cork and embedding the end of the cap sule in therecess thus formed. ln this way when the' cork is being inserted theAend of the capsule is protected from direct contact with the side of thebottle and indeed the overlapping wood at h presses against the eapsul eand helps to hold it in place.

When an inner capsule is used means may be provided for allowing theescape of air from the bottleV while the stopper is being inserted. Thismeans conveniently consists of one or more grooves, f, (Fig. 6) formedin the side of the cork and extending longitudinally up the side of thecork for say two thirds ol the length and conveniently to the pointwhere the upper' and lower capsules meet. The material of which thecapsule is made may in addition be cleared away at this point as shownso as to leave the wooden body of the cork exposed. When the cork isbeing inserted the air escapes through the groove, f, and when the corkis in position the contained liquid passes up the groove and at the headcomes in contact with the wooden body. The wood thus becomes soaked andexpands, causing the cork to fill into the neck of the bottle and make afluid tight joint therewith il it did not do so originally.

The capsules on the lower part of the cork may be carried all the waydown as shown in Fig. 6 and sealed over the bottom face of the cork orthey may extend do'wnwards only part of the way or they may extend tothe bottom of the cork but not be scaled over the bottom face. In allcases the lower capsules are cemented in any suitable manner to the corkbody.

In order to prevent the capsule adhering to the bottle -neck aroughened, milled or corrugated surface on the lower capsule ispreferably provided as shown in Fig. 6. Any suitable lubricant isapplied to the outer surface of the lower capsule. This lubricantentersinto all the little spaces formed by the milled surface and thusprevents the stopper or the capsule adhering to the bottle neck.

In all cases it is preferred to provide a small hole, g, as shown. Thisis for facilitating the insertion of a cork screw.

By compressing Wood for stoppers in the manner herein described the hardcellular structure is broken laterally without seriously damaging thelongitudinal tissue which is the principal drawback to chemical assisitreatment of wood hitherto employed for rendering it compressible.According to this invention the hard cellular' structure is brokenlaterally so that on soaking the body part the liquid with which thewood is soaked may, by permeating through the body, cause the fibers tobe forced apart, so that, on drying, the libers remain apart but are nolonger so firmly bound by the normal cellular structure.

Having now described my invention what l claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:-

l. A bottle stopper liavinga body part ol' crushed wood in which thelateral cellular structure has been broken down, and water-proofinglmeans on one side of said body, substantially as described.

2. A bottle stopper havingl a body part ol crushed wood in which thelateral cellular structure has been broken down, and water proolinglmeans on the outside ot said body, substantially as described.

3. A bottle stopper having a body part of crushed wood in which thelateral cellular structure has been broken down, and a capsule on oneend of said body, substantially as described.

4. A bottle stopper having a body part of crushed wood in which thelateral cellular structure has been broken down, and a capsule on theouter end of said body, substan tially as described.

A bottle stopper having a hollow part made ot wood in which the lateralcellular structure has been broken down. and water-prooiing moans onsaid body part.

G. A bottle stopper having a hollow body part made of wood in which thelateral cellular structure has been broken down, a capsule on the outerpart, and a capsule on the inner part, substantially as described.

T. A bottle stopper having' in combination, a hollow body part made ofcrushed wood, a plug closing the inner end oi' said hollow body part,and a capsule over the outer end, substantially as described.

S. A bottle stopper having in combination, a hollow body part inade ot'crushed wood, a plug closingthe, inner end of said hollow body part, andcapsules over both ends.

E). A bottle stopper' havinga body part of crushed wood in which thelateral cellular structure has been broken down, and inner and outercapsules on said bfdy, said inner capsule being milled and grooved onits surface, substantially as and for the purposes describedA Intestimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence oi' two witnesses,

GEORGE IIOOKITAM.

Witnesses WILLIAM Mouais, WAI/run J. Gunnms.

